Belt-buckle



F. W. LEWIS.

BELT BUCKLE.

APPLICATION `FILED MN. 14, 1920.

1,350,076. Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

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! Mam/m 24 Illia/wey UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK W. LEWIS, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 CHAPIN & HOLLISTER C0., 0F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION 0F RHODE ISLAND.

' BELT-BUCKLE.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Belt-Buckles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to buckles of the class more particularly adapted to automatically grip and bind a belt in adjusted position about the body of the wearer; and the object of this invention is to provide a simple and practical buckle of this character having a cross-bar working in inclined slots for positively engaging the belt, to prevent it from slipping in lghe buckle.

vWith` these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1- is a front view illustrating my improved buckle as applied to a belt.

Fig. 2- is a sectional side elevation illustrating the cam action of my improved biting-roll-bar; also illustrating the arrangement of the slots in the side walls of the buckle whereby their degree of inclination is gradually reduced relative to the plane of the face-plate as they approach this ylate.

l Fig. 3- is an enlarged detailed side elevation of the oi'set or cam-shaped biting-roll member.

Fig flis an end view of this roll.

Fig. 5- is a section through the body of the buckle on line 5 -5 of Fig. 1, illustrating the biting roll in the slots.

Fig. 6- is a perspective view showing the under side of the buckle.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged end view of one form of belt-gripping bar, showing the same as having oppositely-disposed cam portions.

It is found in practice that the ordinary cross-bar mounted in the usual inclined slots of a belt buckle, fails to hold the belt posi- Jtively against slipping when unusual strain is applied thereto.

'Io obviate this serious difiiculty I have provided means in my improved buckle, which serve to increasethe gripping and binding action of this bar so that it will positively hold the belt in any adjusted position in the buckle.

l To accomplish this in a simple and effective way, I have provided a buckle having the usual face-plate 1() with two rearwardlyextending side walls 11 at one end of which is mounted the usual loop 12 to which a portion of the belt 13 is permanently secured. In order to obtain adjustment for the other portion 1-1 of this belt and to bite and retain this portion in adjusted position I have provided a slot 15 in each ot these side walls 11 which are arranged parallel with each other and which slots are set on an incline relative to the plane of the front plate.

It is well known that the less the inclination or angle of the slot where the clamping member enters the belt, the greater is the gripping and binding power of this clamping member. Therefore to produce this increased biting effect I have formed these slots 15' on somewhat of a circle whereby their outer ends have a relatively sharp inclination while their inner ends 16 are nearer parallel with the plane of the face plate against which the clamping member bites the belt.

By this construction the biting roll or member which is mounted in these slots may be moved from its outer end quickly down into engagement with the belt and after engagement therewith the biting action of said biting member will be more gradual, which lessened incline will correspondingly increase its biting or holding power.

I do not wish to be restricted to forming these slots on a circle as they may be made angular if desired, the object being that the inner portion of these slots shall have less inclination relative to the face-plate than the other portion thereof.

The biting roll or bar 17 mounted in these slots is preferably provided with offset truunion members 18 which are adapted to roll or slide in the slots 15 and the outer ends of these trunnion members are preferably reduced as at 19 onto which are riveted the retaining washers 2O to securely hold the biting roll member in position in these slots.

y offsetting these trunnion members the biting roll or bar is provided with a cam action whereby when strain is applied to the belt a slight rotating motion of this roll tions so as to cause it to positively engage Y and so prevent slipping of the roll on the belt.

By my improved construction of a cam shaped biting bar andthe gradual inclination'of the slots, I have produced a buckle which will not slip and will positively hold the beltin any adjustedposition.

In some instances instead offorming the cam bar witha singlel cam action, as illustra-ted in Fig. 4t, I form the same with a double cam action, as illustrated, in Fig. 7, Which latter has a number of practical ad'-v vantages over the single cam among others being first, the double-cam construction may be made cheaper by using the stock form of oblong Wire and inserting trunnion- 22 into the center hole thereof, and by which con-v struction there is practically no stock Wasted; and second, by the use of a double cam 23 and 24:, the bar Will bite on eaclr half of' a revolution, While with the single cani if it does not begin to engage until it has passedV the center or maj or axis, it must make a complete revolution before the cam can act' again.

The foregoing Vdescription isA Vdirected solely toward? the construction illustrated,

but I desire it to be understood thatI reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechani- Cal changes to Which the device issusceptible, the invention beingl defined' and limited only bythe terms of theappen'dled claims.

I. claim:

1. A belt buckle comprising a face-plate having rearwardly-turned side Walls provided With inclined slots therein, and a camshapedbeltfgripping bar rotatably mounted in said slots to bindI the belt by a rotating action against the inner surface of said faceplate.

2. A beltv buckle comprising a face-plate having rearwardly-turned side Walls provided witli inclined slots therein, and a beltgripping bar rotatably mounted in said' slots, said bar being provided Withv oppositely-disposed cam portions,A `each being adapted to grip and bind the' belt-by a rotating action against the inner surface of said face-plate. Y

3. A belt buckle comprising a face-plate having rearwardly-turned-l side Walls providedivith oppositely-disposed inclined slots, a belt-bitingV member operativelyl mounted tov move in said slots, the entirel length of said slots being formed onv the arc of acirclc and set so that their inner ends are at a Vless angle relative tov the face-plate than their FREDERICK VIV. LEWIS. 

